


Hard Way Home

by lmharmon (orphan_account)



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25137856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/lmharmon
Summary: After believing James was dead for seven years, John discovers that James is very much alive and running the Oglethorpe plantation - now called the Isle of Hope - with Thomas Hamilton and a few others. John makes his way back to Savannah.
Relationships: Captain Flint | James McGraw/John Silver, Captain Flint | James McGraw/Thomas Hamilton
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	Hard Way Home

**1726**

**Maroon Island**

Flint isn’t dead. Flint isn’t dead. Flint isn’t dead. Flint isn’t dead. Flint isn’t dead. Flint isn’t dead. Flint isn’t dead. Flint isn’t dead. Flint isn’t dead. Flint isn’t dead. Flint isn’t-

Flint is alive. 

This should have provided Silver with some measure of comfort, of relief. With an envelope and a single sentence, Madi had started to chip away at the grief he had wrapped himself in for the past seven years. 

“James isn’t dead,” she had said. Even wilder, she had continued, “Neither is Thomas. They run Oglethorpe’s, now called the Isle of Hope, with a few others.”

But all Silver could feel now was rage. Rage at having been lied to. Rage at himself at having been so gullible. How could he have been so stupid? How could he not have seen it before? 

The maroon guards brought him to the edge of the forest, back to the beach where members of his crew waited for him. He mumbled a ‘thank you’ at them, then made his way across the sand as quickly as his quaking body would allow. 

The first member of his crew he came across was Ben Gunn, who had wandered farther up the beach than the rest of the men, looking for seashells. He had untucked his shirt and was using it as a pouch to hold the ones he’d already found. He smiled at Silver when he saw him, until he saw the other man’s wild expression and shaking fist. “Everything alright, Captain?” he asked cautiously. 

“Go and fetch Morgan and Hands. I need to speak with the three of you,” Silver said as calmly as he could manage. 

Gunn gave Silver a wary look. “Okay,” he said. He took his seashells and headed back toward the rest of the crew. He returned, as requested, a few minutes later seashell-less and with Tom Morgan and Israel Hands in tow. 

Silver pointed a finger at the three of them. “You lied to me.”

Morgan looked nervous. “About what, Captain?” he asked.

“About Flint!” Silver shouted. Down the beach, several crew members turned to look. Silver lowered his voice before continuing, “He isn’t dead.” 

Hands sighed. Silver had suspected Hands was the ringleader in this. “I worried this would happen if we came here.” 

“What do you mean?” Silver asked.

“Well, your Maroon Princess had started to grow close with Flint, hadn’t she? Back before everything went to shit. I figured you’d told her what you’d done with Flint, and that she was clever enough to have found a way to reach out to him. Guess I was right,” Hands said. 

Silver stabbed a finger into Hands’ chest. “You had no right.” 

“It was for your own good,” Hands snapped back. “Whatever your obsession was with him, you were never going to be able to move on from it unless you thought he was dead. He was always going to pull you back. And look at all you’ve accomplished without him.”

Silver slammed a fist into his thigh, his good thigh, causing him to go off-balance for several seconds. Gunn reached a hand out to help steady him. “Don’t you fucking touch me,” Silver spit at him. Gunn backed away. 

Silver turned his attention back to Hands. “All that I’ve accomplished? I am responsible for the deaths of innocent men, women, and children. I’ve ordered the slaughtering of whole ships, even after they’d surrendered. All while you were whispering in my ear. You just wanted to replace Flint with you.” 

Hands gave Silver a smug smile. “And I have made you rich. Isn’t that what you always wanted?” 

Silver could feel this face, his whole body, burning. Yes, he had wanted to be rich, back before everything. But not like this. Silver alone was easily worth £100 million, with his crew even more. But to do what with? What value would he have, other than on a pirate crew? He was back to the same dilemma he’d faced when he’d given up the Urca gold to stay with Flint. 

With Flint.

Silver could feel a vein throbbing in his neck. He thought it might burst. “When I sent the three of you to go and retrieve Flint and Thomas Hamilton from Savannah, did you even go? Did you at least see if they were alright?”

“No,” Morgan answered, twisting a ring on his index finger. “We just sailed around for long enough and then came back.” After a pause, he said, “I agree with what Hands said, about you needing to be rid of Flint. He would've gotten you killed, eventually. Not to mention the rest of us.” 

Silver could have shot them all. “When we get back to the ship, have Wyman plot a course for Savannah,” he said. He jutted his chin out, daring one of them to defy him.

Gunn fidgeted. “What should we tell the crew? About why we’re going there?”

“What? Your imaginations are suddenly failing you? I’m sure you can figure something out,” Silver said. With that, he clenched a fist around his crutch and headed toward the longboat. 

\---

**At Sea, Aboard the Black Adder**

Alone in his cabin aboard his ship, the Black Adder, Silver finally gave himself a moment to breath. Flint was alive. He was going to get to see him again.

It had been ten years since Silver had taken Flint to Oglethorpe’s. Ten years since Madi had banished him from the Maroon Island. He had not spoken to anyone from his old life - his life with Flint - in all that time, save for Hands, Morgan, and Gunn. He had only gone to see Madi after he had heard that twenty pirates sailing out of Nassau had been hanged. He had wanted to see that she hadn’t been one of them. Hands had protested loudly. Now Silver knew why. 

Three years after he’d betrayed his closest friend, the guilt over having left Flint and Thomas Hamilton in a prison had finally become too much for him. He’d given Hands, Morgan, and Gunn a small ship and crew to go back to Savannah and get them out. They’d returned and said that both Flint and Hamilton had died in a yellow fever outbreak at the plantation. Silver had not thought to question it. Instead, he’d allowed himself to be consumed by grief, which Hands had taken advantage of. 

Of course, according to Madi, Flint and Hamilton hadn’t needed his help, anyway. “They run Oglethorpe’s, now called the Isle of Hope, with a few others.” 

The Isle of Hope. Silver had heard of that. Heard it whispered about in taverns and markets across the West Indies. A place you could go if you were down on your luck, if English rule had become too much for you, for one reason or another. Silver had thought it was a myth. 

Silver fingered the envelope Madi had given him. She’d said there was a letter from Flint inside. With shaking hands, Silver undid the seal, pulled out the letter, and began to read. 

_Dear John,_

_If you’re reading this, that means you’ve spoken with Madi, and you likely know all that’s been going on, so I won’t bore you with any of that._

_I know you’re probably thinking that I wouldn’t want to see you again after everything that’s happened. I need you to know that that’s not true. If you ever choose to return to Savannah, you will be welcome._

_Madi told me what you said. About my having been McGraw before, and then when I believed Thomas was dead, having become Flint, and then, after you returned me to Thomas, having become McGraw again. That you said you believed you had woken me from a terrible nightmare. While there are many things I did as Captain Flint that I am not proud of, there are still things from that time that hold value to me. I would never want to completely return to McGraw, even if that were possible. I would be losing a part of myself that I do not wish to lose._

_While it’s true that when you first met me, I was still very much consumed by the rage I’d first felt when I’d found out what had been done to Thomas, when we met Madi and the rest of the maroons, I began to realize that I was far from alone in my hatred of England, that I wasn’t the only one who had true cause to fight against them. I know you think that led me down a darker path, but it didn’t. For the first time, through seeing the life the maroons had created for themselves, despite every adversity, I allowed myself to accept that I could be both who I used to be and who I’d become._

_It was the maroons who helped me to realize this, but it was with you that I actualized it. I think, during our time together, I became closer to you than I had to anyone before. You were the only person I told, during my time as Captain Flint, about Thomas, the only one I felt comfortable telling. You were the only one who I allowed to really know me as a full, flawed person. I do struggle to understand how you didn’t see that, but perhaps there was too much else going on._

_All this is to say that having been returned to Thomas was not a happy “ending” in and of itself. Because in gaining Thomas, I lost you. Yes, being reunited with Thomas, alive and well, is a gift I can never repay you for, despite the circumstances. But everything that happened in between changed me in a way that can’t be taken back. Being Captain Flint changed me. The maroons changed me. You changed me. Those are no bad things, just complicated ones._

_I hope you do decide to return to Savannah, but I understand if you don’t._

_If you do, I hope that you will find not a man you have never met before, but one you already know very well._

_Yours,_

_James_

Silver dropped the letter, his heart pounding in his chest. What the hell was that? Flint had called him ‘John’, referred to himself as ‘James’. They had never used each other’s first names. As for the rest of it...

“I think you’ve become more McGraw than you’re willing to admit,” Silver said to the paper now lying innocently on his desk. He did not know how to process any of it beyond that. 

Without another glance at the letter, Silver got up and went to ask Wyman how close they were to Savannah. 

\---

**Savannah, Province of Georgia**

Savannah had not changed or grown much since the last time Silver had been there, if at all. Alone, he purchased a horse and saddle from the same harsh stable owner he’d spoken to the last time, when he and his men, plus Flint, had gotten a horse and wagon for the journey. If the man remembered him, he didn’t give any indication. 

Silver made his way through and out of the port city and headed south toward Oglethorpe’s - the Isle of Hope. He really hoped Thomas had picked that ridiculous name. 

As he drew closer, Silver’s emotions began to swirl. Should he really be doing this? Flint had said in the letter that he wanted to see him, but Madi had said the letter had been written a long time ago. What if he’d changed his mind? What if this was a mistake? What if Flint decided to kill him on sight? What if-

There was a rustling sound from the treeline on his left. Silver pulled backward on the reins, getting his horse to come to a stop. What kind of animals did they have in Georgia? He reached for his pistol. 

A bay-colored horse with streaks of grey and white on her face, legs, and torso emerged from the trees and entered Silver’s path. Atop the horse sat a teenage girl with freckles and red, curly hair that was tied into a tail at the base of her skull. She wore a loose linen shirt, breeches, and riding boots. She had a bow slung across her back, a quiver at her hip, and two wild turkeys attached to the back of her saddle. She was an odd sight. Silver let go of his pistol. 

When the girl saw Silver, she immediately reached for her bow, but before she got it off her back, she paused. Silver saw her staring at his leg, then his crutch, then his clothes. He knew that tales about feared pirate captain Long John Silver had spread across the colonies. Perhaps this girl had heard some of them. He expected her to look frightened, to continue reaching for her weapon, but she did not. Instead, she looked relieved. She met Silver’s eyes.

“You’re him,” she said. “You’re John.” 

There was that name again. 

“Um,” Silver said awkwardly. “Hello.” What was going on?

“You’re here to see James?”

“Um...”

“To see Flint,” she corrected.

“...Yes.”

The girl nodded. “Well, I’m heading back. You can come with me.” She squeezed the reins in her left hand and turned her horse toward the Isle. She waited for Silver and his horse to come up beside her before she started moving. 

“Who are you?” Silver asked.

“I’m Kitt,” she said.

That didn’t really answer his question. “But... how do you know who I am? Besides the obvious.”

“I’m James’ daughter,” Kitt said.

Silver turned and stared at her. Flint’s what? 

Kitt laughed. “Not by blood, if that’s what you’re thinking. But he raised me just the same. He and Thomas.” 

Silver stopped his horse again. Would Flint be angry with him for talking to his daughter? What about Thomas? What was he doing talking to a kid, anyway? 

Kitt got several feet in front of Silver before she noticed he wasn’t beside her anymore. She stopped and looked back at him. “What are you doing?” 

“I... don’t want to cause trouble.”

Kitt looked confused. “You’re not trouble,” she said. “You’re family.” 

You’re family. What had she been told that made her say that? Silver didn’t know. But he wanted to find out. 

Hesitantly, he cued his horse to start walking again. 

Once they were walking side-by-side again, Kitt turned and looked at him, more closely this time. Not just at his leg, his crutch, his pirate garb. She looked at the scars and tattoos that peaked out from his shirtsleeves and around his collar, the fact that he hadn’t shaved since he’d left the Maroon Island. Lastly, she looked into his eyes. Whatever she saw there must have troubled her.

“You really took the hard way home, didn’t you?” she said sadly. 

Now, what the hell did that mean? 

\---

At the gate to the Isle, guards stopped them and eyed Silver suspiciously. 

“It’s alright,” Kitt said. “He’s with me.” 

“He’ll still need to give up his weapons,” one of the guards said, gesturing to Silver’s pistol and cutlass. 

“That won’t be necessary,” Kitt said. 

“I could have given them my weapons,” Silver said, still armed, once they were through the gate and away from the guards. 

“You’re not going to harm anyone, are you?” It was an innocent question, but Silver heard the threat in it. Perhaps Flint wasn’t gone after all. 

Silver looked around him as they walked down the path. Though he had not come inside the last time he’d been here, he could tell that the place looked different now from what he’d been able to see before. There were still sprawling fields on either side of the entrance and the plantation house was still there, but farther back, on either side of the house, a town had been erected. As they grew closer, Silver could see what he thought was a magazine, a church, a coffeehouse, and a number of different shops. Even farther out, on either side of the town proper, were houses. Here and there, he saw people going about various parts of their day. 

Kitt led him around the left side of the plantation house and into the town. They rode up to a shop that simply said ‘Carpentry & Woodworking’ on the outside. They dismounted from their horses and went inside. 

The shop had two large tables in the center and shelves lining the walls. They were filled with all sorts of smaller items - chopping boards, storage containers, mallets, tool handles. On the opposite side of the shop from the entrance was a counter, likely for doing business. It was unoccupied. Beyond the counter was an open door that seemed to lead into a workshop, where larger items were being stored and worked on - chairs, cabinets, bed frames. Silver couldn’t see anyone, but he heard voices, someone laughing. Flint laughing. 

Kitt walked up to the counter and rapped her knuckles against the wood. “Can you two come out here, please?”

Silver panicked. He made to turn and flee out of the shop, but it was too late. Flint had appeared in the opposite doorway, a short-haired man right behind him. Flint froze when he saw Silver, causing the other man to knock into him. 

For several moments, Flint and Silver just stared at each other. Silver took him in. His hair and beard were no longer the auburn they had once been, but had turned silver. And he had allowed his hair to grow down to his shoulders. He had less freckles and more wrinkles than Silver remembered, but despite all of this, Flint somehow still looked younger. Silver thought it was his eyes, which held more joy in them than he’d thought possible. 

“What’s going on?” the short-haired man asked. Then he saw Silver. Like Kitt, he took in Silver’s leg and his crutch and seemed to come to a simple conclusion. “Oh,” he said. Also like Kitt, he looked relieved, though Silver also saw worry creep into his eyes. 

Silver turned his attention back to Flint, who had come around the counter and was making his way toward Silver. Silver tensed, prepared to be punched, or kicked, or hit with a mallet. Instead, Flint came in close and pulled Silver into a hug.

Silver’s free hand hung limply at his side. They had never hugged before. They had shared close moments, by accident or by necessity, but nothing like this. 

Kitt moved around into Silver’s line of sight and gestured for Silver to hug Flint back. Slowly, Silver did so, tugging Flint tightly to him. He smelled of wood, and sweat, and cinnamon. He’d used to smell of salt, too. Silver suspected that had faded with time. 

When they let go, Flint rested his hands on Silver’s shoulders and grinned at him. “What are you doing here?” Flint asked, as if Silver was an old friend popping in from the next colony over. 

“I...,” Silver started. I thought you were dead for the last seven years and when I found out you weren’t, I had to come and see for myself that it wasn’t true. “I... got your letter.”

Flint looked confused for a second before he remembered. “You talked to Madi.”

“Briefly,” Silver said. 

Someone cleared their throat. The short-haired man had come up and stood beside them. He held a hand out to Silver. “I’m Thomas.”

Like Flint, Thomas’ hair was silver, but otherwise he’d also aged well, despite the years he’d spent in prison. He had deep laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. He was a handsome man. 

Silver took his hand. Thomas’ expression was friendly, but Silver could still see the worry in his eyes. “It’s good to meet you,” Silver said. 

“You, as well,” Thomas replied. He seemed to mean it. He glanced at Flint, who was still grinning at Silver. “How long are you here for?” 

“Uh-” Silver panicked again. In truth, he hadn’t thought that far. He’d just wanted to know that Flint was alive. Now, he had seen that. “I need to get back to the port. I didn’t remember how long it took to get here. My crew is waiting for me.”

The grin dropped from Flint’s face and his hands fell to his sides. “Oh.”

“Perhaps James could ride with you back to the port?” Thomas suggested, seeing Flint's distress. 

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Silver said quickly. He didn’t want Flint anywhere near Hands. 

But Flint had already latched onto the idea, though he seemed to take note of Silver’s concern. “I’ll ride with you part of the way,” he said. 

The four of them walked outside, back to the horses. Kitt unhooked her two turkeys from the saddle of her horse and showed them to Flint and Thomas. Thomas looked a bit uncomfortable, but Flint smiled and kissed her on the top of the head. 

“I didn’t work her too hard today,” Kitt said of the horse. “She should be good for the trip.” 

Flint nodded. He lifted his foot into the stirrup and swung up and over the horse in one easy movement. He didn’t watch as Silver grasped onto the reins and tuft of the mane of his own horse, pulling himself up by his arm. Thomas and Kitt did, seeming to expect that they would need to help him. Flint knew better. 

“You’ll be back before dark?” Thomas asked Flint.

“Of course,” Flint said. They looked at each other. There was some sort of silent communication between them that ended with a nod from Thomas. 

With that, Silver and Flint started on their way. It wasn’t until they were back on the other side of the gate that either of them spoke. 

“Did Hodson make you buy that horse?” Flint asked. 

“Huh?”

“The stable owner.”

“Oh. Yes. ‘No renting, only buying’,” Silver said, trying to mimic that man’s hoarse voice. “Both damn times. And he’ll only buy it back for half the price!” 

Flint laughed. “He’s a pain in the ass.” 

Silence.

And then, “Did you choose ‘carpentry and woodworking’ because of your father?” Silver asked. He assumed the shop was Flint’s and not Thomas’. 

“Yes,” James said. “I thought I’d remember more of it. Muscle memory. But really, I had to relearn everything.” 

“From what I saw in your shop... not that I know anything, but it looked impressive,” Silver said. 

“Thank you,” Flint said. 

Silence. 

Silver swallowed. “Kitt said something interesting to me when she brought me in.”

“Oh?”

“She said I was family.”

“Did she?”

Frustrated by Flint’s lack of response, Silver shifted in his saddle. “I’m surprised that someone so close to you would hold such a high opinion of me.” 

Flint turned and looked at him, waited for Silver to meet his gaze. “You read my letter.” 

Silver looked away. “Yes, but you wrote that years ago. I thought you might have changed your mind.”

Flint frowned. “You thought my feelings would change?”

His feelings.

Silver took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I’m just... surprised, is all. By everything.”

Flint studied Silver. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. He simply nodded. 

When they were about a mile away from the port, Flint stopped. So did Silver. They looked at each other. 

“I do recognize you, you know,” Silver said quietly. “You’re... different, but the same.” 

Flint smiled. “I recognize you, too, John.” 

John. Again. 

Silver’s heart started pounding in his chest. Silver didn’t know how that could be true, that Flint could recognize him, even after all he’d done. Surely he’d heard some of the stories. But Silver didn’t want to question it. He wanted to savor it. 

Flint gave Silver one last long look that Silver was certain was supposed to mean something, but he wasn’t sure what. Then he turned his horse around and headed back home. 

He hadn’t gotten very far before Silver shouted after him. “Flint!”

Flint turned in his saddle to look at him. 

“Can I come back tomorrow?”

Flint grinned. “Of course.”


End file.
